8/2/07 Chesapeake Bay Fishing Report
By Capt. Jim Brincefield d/b/a “Jil Carrie” Charter Fishing

After our 7/31 debacle, it felt good to get back out there and make amends with the fish gods. Today we welcomed Mr. Dean Graves and family who are vacationing in Corolla for the week for a total of 10 anglers. We did a full day (inshore - 8 hours) Bay fishing trip. Mr. T.J. Reiber of NOVA served as 1st Mate.

We split the day into thirds. For the first part of the day we started out at the SBC bottom fishing where we found a cornucopia of small and medium Norfolk Spot and Atlantic Croaker (“Hardhead”). We kept 35 of the largest specimens for the grill and released the rest to fight another day. We also released a couple of Mother In Law fish and a couple of small Smooth Dog Sharks.

The second part of the day we spent at the 1st Flounder fishing. We caught a large number of Flounder but only managed to land 3 keepers - 19", 20", and 21". We released the undersized Flounders with the hope we will see them bigger next year. We also saw the “Hooked Up” land and release a MONSTER Black Drum. They fought that fish around at least a dozen pilings and then finally in open water - way to go guys, AWESOME job!

Then we went trolling for some King and Spanish Mackerel off Cape Henry. Unfortunately, the only Mackerel we hooked was a Spaniard which we lost at the back of the boat. But the Snapper Bluefish kept us busy anyway! So far, the Mackerel have not gotten real thick here at Cape Henry. We hope they will improve over the next few weeks.

It felt so much better to catch some nice fish today. I was losing sleep after the last fiasco. Fishing can make you so humble. What a sport. What a job. What a life! Now, if I could just find that Golden Tilefish spot...

[ pictures to follow ]